BUFFALO – A high school triangular event with three high school volleyball teams was originally scheduled here Tuesday afternoon at Milo Peterson Gymnasium, but the squad from Tyro Christian School didn’t show up.
Unfortunately, for portions of the match, it seemed as though Altoona-Midway didn’t either.
Battling practice issues with several players being out sick during the week, the Lady Jets
weren’t in top form, physically or mentally, and as a result fell to Liberty Homeschool Alliance in
straight sets Tuesday. The Lady Arrows swept the match by scores of 25-17, 25-18, and 25-15.
“Things definitely did not go well tonight,” said Altoona-Midway head coach Michelle
Stackhouse. “It was supposed to be a triangular, but Tyro had to back out. Also, we were
coming off of a week of being sick. We hadn't had a full practice with everyone there for sevendays, and it definitely showed.”Stackhouse indicated her squad was not themselves in several areas Tuesday.
“Our communication was lacking tonight. We didn’t play as a team. We weren’t hustling after
the ball,” the coach noted. “We had 15 dropped balls tonight. That should never happen at this
level. “But we will bounce back,” Stackhouse continued. “We can be a better team. They have proven it before and they can and will do it again. I have faith in these girls.”
Despite the loss, there were bright spots for the Lady Jets. Shining the brightest in that area was junior Emmalynn Pupanek, who ended the night with 40 digs, 2 blocks, 5 hits and 7 serves.
“Emmalynn was our leader tonight,” Stackhouse noted. “And our other girls had some good
moments as well. Overall there just weren’t enough of them tonight.” Senior Summer Raymond finished with 26 sets, 4 serves, and 18 digs. Chloe Stewart, also a senior, had 27 digs, 3 hits, 1 block and 8 serves, one being an ace. Sophomore Chantal Morales rang up 12 serves – 2 of them ace – and 6 digs. Junior Jyl Davis wound up with 8 serves, 15digs and 4 sets.
“We are going to really work on our communication and conditioning this week before our next
tournament this weekend at Flinthills,” Stackhouse said.
AMHS (1-5) is slated to compete in the Flinthills Tournament this Saturday (Sept. 9) at Rosalia.